Disturbing Behavior (1998)

director David Nutterviewed: 10/18/2017

Disturbing Behavior is one of a few Nineties’ big studio teen horror films that were almost great. Studio’s wanted semi-edgy stuff, but couldn’t produce something as original, pulpy, surprising or fun as Indie horror productions of the prior decades were.

It’s possible this film could have been better. Apparently director David Nutter (who had worked on The X-Files) had the film chopped down to its 83 minutes and a certain amount of its potential removed.

It’s horror/sci-fi as social critique. Small town kids are turning into perfect preppy angels with robotic speed and mannerisms and apparently it’s the adults who are implanting devices in their brains to “fix” them. They also indoctrinate them with something akin to Fox News as was done to Alex in A Clockwork Orange.

The cast is quite solid, with James Marsden, Katie Holmes, William Saddler, Steve Railsback, and stand-out Nick Stahl. It’s all pretty primal Nineties, from the styles to the soundtrack.

Disturbing Behavior is a quick-paced and amusingly satirical but not as clever or biting as it would like to have been. But still quite enjoyable.